The prior art, and in particular the Applicant's prior document FR-A-2 718 347=EP-A-676 158, discloses a method and a device for supporting an element to be supported, in particular the body of a patient, making it possible to support the element at an essentially constant controlled penetration depth.
Unfortunately, to inflate the initially-deflated chamber, the inflation means currently used are constituted by means, such as a compressor, capable of inflating the chamber at a pressure that is high, i.e. higher than 30 mbars, and in general about 50 mbars. Such means suffer from the drawback of delivering a low flow rate, i.e. a flow rate lower than about 10 liters per minute (l/min), which gives rise to a considerable waiting time of in the range 20 minutes to 60 minutes or more before the support device becomes operational.